ICAM-1 isoforms: specific activity and sensitivity to cleavage by leukocyte elastase and cathepsin G.

The extracellular moiety of ICAM-1 consists of five Ig-like domains, the first and third domains mediating adhesion to integrin ligands. The ICAM-1 gene, however, gives rise to the expression of five alternative splice variants containing two, three, or four Ig-like domains. In this work, we have investigated whether the rearrangement of the architecture of ICAM-1 affects its structural properties and function.